Author: Dr Jaseema Begum Nazir Khan, MD (USM), M.Comm.Health Sc. (Occ Health) (UKM), MPH (Malaya), DrPH (Malaya), MAOEMM, CMIA (NIOSH)
Position: Vice Chairman, Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Malaysian Medical Association
Date: 27 January 2026
1.0 INTRODUCTION
An average Malaysian employee spends between eight to twelve hours at work for most days of the week, accumulating between 50,000 and 80,000 working hours throughout their lifetime. During this period, workers inevitably encounter various occupational exposures, including physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial agents. Although not all exposures are harmful, some have the potential to cause adverse health effects, thus warranting careful classification as occupational hazards. The distinction between exposure and hazard remains fundamental in occupational health practice. As Malaysia transitions into a strengthened regulatory environment following the enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 on 1 June 2024, the importance of robust exposure assessment has increased substantially. The amended OSHA markedly expands its coverage to include all workplaces, such as public services, statutory authorities and private institutions, reinforcing the need for systematic identification and evaluation of workplace risks.
Risk, in occupational health terms, is understood as the probability of harm resulting from exposure to hazardous agents. However, establishing a clear cause-effect relationship between workplace exposure and disease remains difficult due to complex factors such as varying job histories, concurrent non-work exposures, and long latency periods associated with occupational illnesses. As work arrangements diversify (including hybrid and remote models), exposure assessment must increasingly account for non-traditional environments and emerging psychosocial and ergonomic risks. Read more